Tag

Playable Worlds

All articles tagged with #playable worlds

Stars Reach kicks off early access as terraforming sandbox MMO opens its gates
gaming7 days ago

Stars Reach kicks off early access as terraforming sandbox MMO opens its gates

Stars Reach, the Kickstarter-backed sandbox MMORPG from Playable Worlds led by Raph Koster, enters early access today, offering a terraforming-forward galaxy where players can build governments, craft, trade, and shape ecosystems across a vast simulated universe. The current build covers core systems (combat, building, government, crafting, trade) but remains in active development, with a progression wipe planned before 1.0. Early-access editions cost $30 (base), $50, and $80, while the final launch next year will be free-to-play. The project has faced funding challenges and layoffs, casting some doubt on the timing, but a detailed six-month roadmap aims to deliver features like guilds, weather, spaceships, and more.

Google's Genie promises Mario‑style worlds from prompts, but is it real game-making?
technology6 months ago

Google's Genie promises Mario‑style worlds from prompts, but is it real game-making?

Google DeepMind’s Project Genie is an experimental tool that generates explorable, AI-driven worlds from text and visuals, rendering in real time as you move with restricted 60‑second play sessions at about 720p/24fps. Early demos have produced Mario- and Zelda‑style environments, but it isn’t a full game engine and IP restrictions are emerging. Currently limited to US Google AI Ultra subscribers, the tech raises intriguing questions about AI-assisted world-building versus true game development.